Senior Spikeball: How Seniors are passing time in lunch & raising money for a good cause

Winners Barrett Harper and Joe Eshleman pictured with the tournament trophy

Everyone knows a huge perk of being a senior is having a full period of lunch. However, what some people fail to realize is that with all this time on their hands, some seniors get bored. During fifth-period lunch, the students searched and searched for something to fill their time until they landed on the perfect activity: spikeball. Spikeball is a game that consists of two, two-person teams going head-to-head, each with the goal of hitting the ball into the net and bouncing it away from the opposing team. However, teammates must also coordinate their “spikes” with each other, passing the ball in between them a maximum of three times before returning it to the net.

What started out with just a few senior boys passing time soon evolved into a much larger, competitive group of students that decided to launch a full-fledged tournament. After creating a double-elimination bracket, the inaugural 5th Period Senior Spikeball Tournament began. For weeks students played against each other, competitive spirit growing and favorites emerging. But the tournament did not go unnoticed—students from all over the fifth period lunch became intrigued by the event—and word spread around the school. By this point, the news of the tournament stretched far beyond the seniors in fifth period lunch, the cheers of fans reaching the ears of students sitting in classrooms. And those in the tournament did not take this lightly—a trophy emerged made out of a water bottle and a spikeball spray-painted gold. Now, more than ever, everyone wanted to win that trophy and become the champion of the fifth-period spikeball tournament.

After days of competition in the sweltering Alabama sun, the two teams were set for the championship: underdogs Barrett Harper and Joe Eshleman had to face Nate Harris and Will Sasser. Barrett and Joe would have to defeat Nate and Will not just once, but twice due to being in the losers bracket. But, after victories over Jable Ramey and Jake Murphree and Jack Richardson and Will Mitchell, Barrett and Joe finally worked their way up to the top to face a team many believed would win it all: Nate and Will. On the day of the championship, tons of students gathered around to watch the match. Students played music out of speakers, sang the national anthem, and cheered as loud as they could for the two teams. Even people in the classes surrounding the senior patio knew what was happening. And the turnout wasn’t just a small group of seniors in fifth-period lunch. Students from all grades were watching, and faculty members even came out, too. Our athletics photographer also showed up to capture the most memorable moments from the match. In the end, Barrett and Joe made a surprising comeback and won it all, with Barrett adding that he “owns Nate Harris” at the end of the match. After the championship was secured, fans went wild, and every student wanted a video or picture of the winning team. However, this electric finish to the first tournament only fueled the students' desire to create another bracket. Everyone, including fans and competitors alike, is excited for the next bracket-style tournament.

While the original tournament consisted of only ten teams, the second one has sixteen. Also, there is now a fee to enter the tournament, but all of the proceeds go directly to RISE, Vestavia Hills High School’s semester-long philanthropic event benefiting the O’Neill Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB. While the senior spikeball tournament is not put on by RISE, the students would like to donate the money as a way of both having fun and supporting a good cause. When reflecting on the tournament as a whole, Joe Eshleman, one of the students who helped create the tournament, states that he “loves how this bonds students together senior year, and we have the opportunity to make high school memories that we’ll never forget.”

The second tournament began this past week during fifth-period lunch, and students are already ecstatic. Will Sasser has begun his revenge tour and believes his team has what it takes to win it all this time; other students, such as Morgan McInnis, are confident in their abilities, despite being labeled as underdogs. Fans of the tournament Caroline Hawkins and Caroline Collums claim that it is “epic” and are just excited to have some entertainment during the long lunch period. Barrett and Joe are working hard to claim title number two. All in all, no matter who you are or your level of spikeball ability, the senior spikeball tournament offers something for everyone: a fun way to pass time in lunch, get outside, and build relationships during the final year of high school. And, while no one knows what the future holds for the spikeball tournament or its dedicated participants, we do know this: the class of 2023 is a special group of seniors, and we cannot wait to see what they do next.